Making History Through Rum with Joy Spence

01/07/22 • 52 min

1 Listener

Joy Spence was the first female master blender in the entire spirits industry and today, 40 years later, she is still creating exceptional rum. Joy’s journey into the world of spirits began with a passion for chemistry in high school and a teacher who helped her to reach her full potential. Her intellect, combined with her endearing and tenacious personality, makes her an unstoppable force. According to Joy, the main element that sets Jamaican rum apart is that when you drink it you can feel the spirit of the country; and Joy herself oozes that spirit too. Not only is Joy a world-class blender, but she also dedicates a lot of her time to helping other young women discover their passions and follow their dreams. Joy has so much fascinating knowledge to share, and by the end of this episode, you’ll know if you have what it takes to be a master blender and the proper way to drink rum!

Appleton Estate’s Master Blender, Joy Spence, has the honour of being the first woman to hold the position of Master Blender in the spirits industry. In this role, Joy is responsible for ensuring the quality and consistency of existing blends, creating new rum blends, and monitoring the company’s inventory of aging rum stocks. Simply put, it is Joy’s job to ensure that that all Appleton Estate rum blends meet the high standards that consumers have grown to love and expect. Joy joined Appleton Estate as Chief Chemist in 1981 where her passion for the art of creating rum-blends was inspired by her predecessor and mentor at the company, then Master Blender, Owen Tulloch. When Owen retired Joy was appointed the Master Blender in 1997.

Key Points From This Episode:

• This year is Joy’s 40th anniversary at Appleton Estate Rum as their master blender.

• Joy’s upbringing in Jamaica, as an adopted child.

• The woman who fostered Joy’s love for chemistry, and her devastating death.

• Joy’s education and professional background, leading up to her current role.

• Paths that Joy’s children have taken career-wise.

• Skills that are vital for the work that Joy does.

• How the heat in Jamaica impacts the rum being produced there.

• The huge difference between standard rum and premium aged rum.

• What makes Jamaican rum unique.

• Admirable work that Joy is doing to help others.

• Advice for anyone out there who is hoping to pursue a career as a master blender.

• The new, very limited, collections that Joy has been working on, one of which sold out within two hours when it was released in Europe!

• What the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience entails.

• How Joy likes to drink rum, what specific rums should be paired with, and an explanation of how to make Joy’s Cocktail.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Key Points From This Episode:

• This year is Joy’s 40th anniversary at Appleton Estate Rum as their master blender.

• Joy’s upbringing in Jamaica, as an adopted child.

• The woman who fostered Joy’s love for chemistry, and her devastating death.

• Joy’s education and professional background, leading up to her current role.

• Paths that Joy’s children have taken career-wise.

• Skills that are vital for the work that Joy does.

• How the heat in Jamaica impacts the rum being produced there.

• The huge difference between standard rum and premium aged rum.

• What makes Jamaican rum unique.

• Admirable work that Joy is doing to help others.

• Advice for anyone out there who is hoping to pursue a career as a master blender.

• The new, very limited, collections that Joy has been working on, one of which sold out within two hours when it was released in Europe!

• What the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience entails.

• How Joy likes to drink rum, what specific rums should be paired with, and an explanation of how to make Joy’s Cocktail.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Previous Episode

Creating the world you want to live, do the work you love with Fawn Weaver

Meet Fawn Weaver. Serial entrepreneur, investor, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author, and one badass Black woman. She is a risk-taker. And why not? Her risks are calculated and more often than not pay off in big ways. She doesn’t look back on old successes or failures and keeps her eyes fixed squarely on the future.

She loves her life, adores her family, and lives in the here and now..and right now she is rewriting the history of Uncle Nearest whiskey, the American spirit market, and building an incredible Black-owned brand as the CEO and Founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, and she’s absolutely not stopping there.

For the second year in a row, Uncle Nearest is the most awarded American whiskey or bourbon. They have garnered 85 awards in 2020, including 8 Best in Class and 12 Double Gold, the coveted “World’s Best” by Whisky Magazine, and Double Gold from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

They were honored as Wine Enthusiast's Spirit Brand of the Year.
Uncle Nearest 1856 earned a spot on this year's Oprah's Favorite Things list! And not only Oprah’s Favorite Things, but a separate list with the Queen herself saying, “Folks who love the diversity in business and a superb drink will be glad to unwrap this gift."
Inc. Magazine honored Uncle Nearest with their Best in Business award.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support

Next Episode

High on the Hog a conversation with Dr. Jessica B. Harris

According to Heritage Radio Network, there’s perhaps no greater expert on the food and foodways of the African Diaspora than Doctor Jessica B. Harris. She is the author of twelve critically acclaimed cookbooks documenting the foods and foodways of the African Diaspora including Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons: Africa’s Gifts to New World Cooking, Sky Juice, and Flying Fish Traditional Caribbean Cooking, The Welcome Table: African-American Heritage Cooking, The Africa Cookbook: Tastes of a Continent, Beyond Gumbo: Creole Fusion Food from the Atlantic Rim. Harris also conceptualized and organized The Black Family Reunion Cook Book. Her book, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America, was the International Association for Culinary Professionals 2012 prize winner for culinary history. Her most recent book is My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir.

In her more than four decades as a journalist, Dr. Harris has written book reviews, theater reviews, travel, feature, and beauty articles too numerous to note. She has lectured on African-American food and culture at numerous institutions throughout the United States and abroad and has written extensively about the culture of Africa in the Americas, particularly the foodways. In the most recent edition of the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, author John Mariani cites Harris as the ranking expert on African American Foodways in the United States.

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/afrosandknivespod/support